Plant Based Foods Association appoints CEO
The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) has appointed Rachel Dreskin its CEO, effective March 25. Dreskin is the first person to hold the role of CEO at the trade association.
Coming to PBFA from Compassion in World Farming, where she was U.S. executive director, Dreskin was previously the Atlanta-based organization’s head of food business, in which role she guided the development of its corporate engagement program.
“I am so excited to be sharing the news of PBFA’s CEO hire with our members, collaborators and friends,” said Nicole Sopko, the association’s board president. “In the time that I’ve spent with her over the past few weeks, I have been inspired by Rachel’s visionary ideas for building relationships, meeting member needs and advancing PBFA into our next stage of growth. Combining her management experience with the incredible team of experts we already have in place doing such important work on behalf of our members and this industry is going to greatly expand PBFA’s capacity to effect change. I am so confident and excited about our future with the direction of this dedicated and experienced leader.”
Dreskin has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies to incorporate and bolster animal welfare within corporate sustainability programs. In her last role before joining PBFA, Rachel led Compassion USA’s growing role in creating a more humane and sustainable food and farming system via measurable farmed animal-welfare improvements and protein diversification.
She is also a board member of Global Animal Partnership and the Regenerative Organic Alliance, has guest-lectured at such U.S. universities as Stanford; the University of California, Santa Cruz; and University of Delaware, and has been featured in national media.
“PBFA plays an essential and pivotal role in reforming our food system, and I’m proud to be joining a talented team and immensely exciting organization,” said Dreskin. “I look forward to building on the strong foundation to enable growth within the plant-based foods sector, not only benefiting our members and stakeholders, but also people, animals and the planet.”
“We’re beyond thrilled to have Rachel as the next CEO of the PBFA and lead the organization into an exciting future for plant-based foods,” added Doug Radi, PBFA board member and chair of the search committee. “Rachel’s collaborative style, ability to build strong industry coalitions, and keen strategic planning and executional mindset will make her an outstanding leader for PBFA and our broader industry.”
San Francisco-based PBFA represents more than 180 plant-based food companies and works to expand market opportunities for this fast-growing food industry sector, which last year hit the $5 billion mark.